Title
Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-275, An Ordinance Amending Chapter 40, Article III, Sections 40-171 and 40-175 of the Code of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Pertaining to Potable Water Rates and Bulk Delivery Rates
Recommended Action
I introduce, without prejudice, Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-275, An Ordinance Amending Chapter 40, Article III, Sections 40-171 and 40-175 of the Code of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Pertaining to Potable Water Rates and Bulk Delivery Rates, and ask the staff to assure that it is published as provided in the County Charter.
Utilities Manager Recommendation
The Utilities Manager recommends that Council introduce the ordinance as presented.
Board, Commission or Committee Recommendation
The Board of Public Utilities recommends that Council introduce the ordinance presented.
Body
The ten-year forecast for the water utility presented with the FY2018 budget includes a series of incremental rate increases to generate revenues needed for current operations and to build cash reserves necessary for future infrastructure needs. Over the course of several meetings of the Board of Public Utilities in the fall of 2016 several alternative scenarios were considered. After discussion, “scenario 40” was selected as the most reasonable balance between increased rates and necessary system expenditures, and was the foundation upon which the ten-year budgetary projection was based. An 8% increase in both retail and wholesale sales is proposed. These rate increases were included in the FY2018 budget, and are proposed for implementation effective with our customer’s first billing period beginning after August 1st, 2017.
The proposed water rate ordinance is attached as Attachment A.
Water Distribution and Water Production are separate “sub funds” of the Water Utility. Starting when the water system was transferred from the DOE in 1998, wholesale water ra...
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